Havana Flights for US Carriers and Boeing’s Next Midsized Jet: APEX Daily Experience Week in Review
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Here are the most-read stories from this week’s APEX Daily Experience newsletters. To receive breaking passenger experience industry news in your inbox on a daily basis, subscribe here.
Cuba Libre: US Tentatively Approves Eight Airlines for Havana Flights
TRAVEL + LEISURE | JULY 7, 2016
The US Department of Transportation today announced a proposal for eight carriers, including United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, American Airlines and JetBlue, to begin nonstop flights from the United States to Havana, Cuba, as early as this fall. “Today we take another important step toward delivering on President Obama’s promise to re-engage Cuba,” said US Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. “Restoring regular air service holds tremendous potential to reunite Cuban-American families and foster education and opportunities for American businesses of all sizes.”
Shenzhen Airlines Chooses Rockwell Collins’ PAVES IFE for Upcoming Boeing 737s
ROCKWELL COLLINS NEWSROOM | JULY 6, 2016
Rockwell Collins has secured a deal to supply Shenzhen Airlines with its PAVES Broadcast overhead in-flight entertainment system. The lightweight IFE platform will be linefitted on 44 new aircraft, including 37 Boeing 737 MAXs and seven Next-Generation Boeing 737 aircraft, with deliveries expected to begin in July 2017. PAVES Broadcast will give Shenzhen Airlines the option to handle updates of non-encrypted content, and the system’s high-definition media server features solid-state digital audio and video storage capability, integrated pre-recorded announcements and music functionality with an embedded Airshow 3-D moving map.
Midsized Dreaming: Boeing Says New Wide-Body Is a Matter of “When,” Not “If”
AINONLINE | JULY 6, 2016
The prospect of Boeing launching a new midsized airplane is now a matter of “when” rather than “if,” according to Mike Delaney, the company’s vice-president and general manager of Airplane Development. Speaking ahead of the Farnborough International Airshow, he said Boeing has spoken to 36 potential customers about a gap in the market for an aircraft sized between the 757 and 767, and estimates a total demand between 4,000 to 5,000 airplanes. “I’m much more optimistic that we can figure our piece out by the middle of the next decade, and I’m pretty sure one or more engine partners will figure it out because they won’t want to be left behind,” says Delaney.
A Radical Aircraft Design Inspired by… Shipping Containers
CNN | JULY 7, 2016
A radical aircraft design by the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne aims to transform the way people and air cargo travel. Called Clip-Air, the modular concept is inspired by shipping containers and is composed of a flying component, including airframe, cockpit and engines, and a number of detachable pods that can act as cabins or cargo holds. However, the chances of the design ever coming to market are slim, according to Addison Schonland, founder of AirInsight. “Although it may be brilliant from an engineering point of view, it is going to be very tough to make it work commercially,” Schonland says.
AA Reveals What’s Premium About Its First Upgraded Economy Dreamliner Cabin
INFLIGHT ONLINE | JULY 8, 2016
American Airlines has released details about its upcoming premium economy cabin on board its first Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner. The 21-seat, three-row section will debut November 4 on flights from Dallas/Fort Worth International to Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas and São Paulo-Guarulhos International, but will only be available to top-tier members of its AAdvantage loyalty program, until early next year when it opens for general sale. The cabin features leather seats with 38-inch pitch, seatback entertainment systems with large touchscreens, USB ports and in-flight Wi-Fi with global coverage. Passengers flying international routes will receive noise reducing headphones and amenity kits. The airline’s existing wide-body fleet will also be retrofitted with premium economy cabins as part of a $3-billion investment.
The Kids Are in Flight: Air Malta Launches Onboard Experience for Young Flyers
INFLIGHT ONLINE | JULY 5, 2016
Air Malta has launched what it claims is the first-ever in-flight experience designed specifically for young flyers. The Maltese flag carrier’s SKY KIDS service took off last week on a flight to Paris with 60 children aged eight to 15. Two professional child-minders were recruited as SKY KIDS crewmembers to welcome the children with gifts before boarding, and the airline hosted skill games and one-to-one activities aimed at keeping Air Malta’s young passengers entertained during the three-hour flight. “We intend to organize similar flights when we see that there are a good number of children booked. The national airline takes pride in creating activities that exceed our guests’ expectations,” says Joe Galea, Air Malta’s deputy CCO.
